ARTICLES ABOUT SONY BY DATE - PAGE 5

Watching Victoria Azarenka test her injured ankle in practice Friday morning, Lauren Davis saw her hopes of playing in the Sony Open slipping away. Davis, of Fort Lauderdale, was shocked when the call came one hour before Azarenka's match with Boca Raton 's Madison Keys that the world's third-ranked player was pulling out due to a right ankle sprain. The 19-year-old Davis proved a worthy stand-in for the No. 2 seed as a lucky loser entry, outlasting Boca Raton 's Madison Keys 6-1, 7-5, 7-6 (7)

Since her stunning upset of Serena Williams in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, things haven't exactly gone as planned for local product Sloane Stephens. While the Plantation native has endeared herself to American tennis fans, including those at the Crandon Park Tennis Center who came to see her play Thursday, she's struggled on the court, her season marked by early exits at several tournaments. Early in her first match at the Sony Open, it seemed Stephens was headed for another disappointing day. But after dropping a tough opening set in just 20 minutes, Stephens gathered herself and battled back for a 0-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 64 Olga Govortsova of Belarus in second-round play.

— After a three-year absence, Lleyton Hewitt returned to the Sony Open in style. The former world No. 1, who received a wild-card entry into this year's tournament, made the most of his opportunity, hanging on for a 6-1, 7-6(3) first-round win over Portugal's Joao Sousa on Wednesday. For Hewitt, a two-time Grand Slam winner, it was another chance to prove that despite multiple injuries and potential career-ending surgeries, he's not quite ready to call it quits. His victory at the Crandon Park Tennis Center came just over a week after the 32-year-old Australian picked up a confidence-building win against top-25 player John Isner at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.

A year ago, things couldn't have been going any better for Victoria Azarenka. When the 23-year-old from Belarus arrived in South Florida for the Sony Open, she was the tournament's defending champion, the world's No. 1 ranked player and she'd started the 2012 season with 23 consecutive victories. Things are a little different this year. While Azarenka once again enters Sony without a loss, she's had to deal with a nagging, painful injury to her right ankle that's left her unsure whether she'll be able to play her first tournament match on Friday.

First, it was the daughter who was emotional, standing on the Australian Open court in January, having beaten her tennis idol, Serena Williams, and being asked for her thoughts after a breakthrough win that resonates all the way to the Sony Open beginning this week on Key Biscayne. "Oh my God, I don't even know," Sloane Stephens said, laughing on the court that day and bringing laughter from the crowd. Then it was the mother, Sybil Smith, who was emotional. She sent a congratulatory text to her daughter from a world away in their Plantation home.

Rafael Nadal, in the midst of a comeback from a knee injury, pulled out of the upcoming Sony Open before storming from behind to topple Juan Martin del Potro in the Indian Wells final Sunday for his record 22 n d Masters 1000 title. The 11-time Grand Slam champion and three-time runner-up on Key Biscayne, recently criticized the ATP for not caring about the health of the players because of too many hard-court tournaments. "I'm very sorry I will not be able to go to Miami's tournament I love and never won there, so it's sad news for me," Nadal told ESPN-2.

There was a strange mood on the grounds of Crandon Park Tennis Center on Monday, as if something was missing. Or someone. While young hopefuls and aging veterans were attempting to qualify for the main draw of the Sony Open on the outer courts, second-seeded Andy Murray was practicing on Stadium Court and third-seeded David Ferrer was hosting the men's draw selection on the grounds. Third-seeded David Ferrer? Two of the greatest players of this generation, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, are not here for basically the first time in their certain Hall of Fame careers, due to injury, age or both.

The women's draw is wide open because of injuries to top players, including second-ranked Victoria Azarenka, a two-time Sony Open champ who won her second Aussie Open this year, but pulled out before her semi at Indian Wells with an ankle injury. No. 5 Li Na hasn't played since injuring her ankle in the Aussie finals, and No. 9 Samantha Stosur (ankle) pulled out last week. Serena Williams USA World ranking/seeding: 1/1 Ht/Wt: 5-10,155 Age: 31 Best finish at Key Biscayne: Champion in 2002-04, 2007-08 Notable: The 15-time Grand Slam champ squeaked by Azarenka to become the oldest No. 1 in WTA history in February.

SONY OPEN IF YOU GO What: Sony Open, a concurrently held Masters 1000 ATP tournament and WTA Premier mandatory tournament that has a combined purse of nearly $10.4 million for men and women in 96-player singles draw as well as 32-player doubles draw. When: Monday through Sunday, March 31: Qualifying rounds: Monday and Tuesday; Women's main draw starts Tuesday with men to follow on Wednesday. Where: Tennis Center at Crandon Park, 7300 Crandon Blvd., Miami. Who: Three-time Key Biscayne champion and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, as well as recently minted No. 1 Serena Williams, a five-time Key Biscayne champion, will return, as will most of the Top 20 players from each tour.